An Editorial From the Fort Wayne News Sentinel Bashing GM and the Volt

[firebirdbandit]

Remember this guy is from Texas. There is a lot of peoples jobs who rely on oil and the Volt is the first real serious threat. Everyone who drives a Volt realizes that hey I can actually do most of my driving without using gas. Those people will demand more and more out of their next cars. I left a comment for the story but its not posted yet.

[tedbe]

Interesting how the most vocal supporters of business object most loudly when government assists business. This would appear to be a contradiction. But then, so would advocating that we permit GM to go out of business and cede our domestic auto industry to other countries. More is at work here, including a desire to protect the oil companies. All I know is that in the week since I bought a Volt, I have purchased no gas. My gas mileage on the tank that came with the car to date is 175 m.p.g. and rising fast. Every Volt sold means one less customer for the oil companies. That's why we are hearing this kind of rhetoric, in an attempt to obscure this fact. The Volt allows people to live without the oil companies. It's called empowerment, and it's a very big threat to people who have had a licence to mint money for the past 100 years. We can expect them to fight back.

[feinstei]

My "Letters to the Editor" reply to the editorial in the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel....

I was greatly angered by Leninger’s offensive remarks in his column of April 21st. His childish name-calling, such as referring to General Motors as “Government Motors” showed his lack of maturity and journalistic integrity. Leninger needs a hard lesson as to which side his bread is buttered on. GM is a major employer in this area and its employees are the ones keeping this newspaper alive. Without speaking to any Chevy Volt owners and the GM dealers in this area, Leninger spewed half-truths and meaningless rants about the Chevy Volt and derogatory lies about GM that he parroted from Rush Limbaugh. Leninger’s cheap name-calling rant was an insult to those employed by GM and its dealers in Allen County.

All of us are recipients of government subsidies. Leninger probably receives a federal subsidy via his home mortgage deduction or charitable deductions which are indeed discriminatory subsidies for the rich. Leninger’s self-centered hypocrisy in benefiting by his tax deductions is amazing to me. The federal government instituted the electric/hybrid car deduction under the Bush administration (it’s not Obama’s fault) in order to encourage research and perfection of hybrid and electric car technology. This deduction has benefited buyers of foreign hybrid cars such as the Toyota Prius.

The Chevy Volt is exciting revolutionary technology designed, engineered, and manufactured by Americans that, in future years (when the cost of lithium batteries comes down) will be a great solution for mainstream car buyers. This version of the vehicle was designed and engineered by Americans over a period of less than 3 years. My Volt has used about 1 ¾ of a gallon of gas since I purchased it in November from Kelley Chevrolet. While I admit that it’s currently a moderately expensive vehicle, the price will go down and become more reasonable as time goes on (just as the Prius has become more affordable since it was first introduced).

Perhaps the hard-working employees of GM in Allen County should cancel their subscriptions to the News-Sentinel since one of their misinformed and irresponsible columnists insulted their employer without cause. Perhaps the GM dealers in Allen County should pull their advertising dollars from this rag. That would send a message to the editors of this newspaper to have a bit more discretion over the content placed within its pages.

[jomo25]

It'll be fun to be able to point back to all these naysayers and their terribly misinformed or purposefully deceptive spoutings. File each one away as evidence of their stupidity, which will be plain to see in the not-so-distant future.

[dwl]

It'll be fun to be able to point back to all these naysayers and their terribly misinformed or purposefully deceptive spoutings. File each one away as evidence of their stupidity, which will be plain to see in the not-so-distant future.

Doesn't seem to have much of an effect on politicians. Won't work with these guys either. They'll just bumble along on whatever their new favorite subject is. And push everything else out of their mind. These folks live in the now. Not in the past or in the future. They think about what's happening this very moment and their current goals with no regard to what has happened or will happen.

[mikeg3]

Remember this guy is from Texas.

I resent that. Fort Wayne is in Indiana.

[Volt Dolt]

I can understand that reasonable people can disagree on the GM bailout. But given that it's a "done deal", why are so many hoping for "our" investment in GM to fail?

My grandmother told me she remembered a time when a car would go down the street and people would hollar after it "Get a horse!" Makes me wonder if we aren't dealing with a similar aversion to unfamilair technology today.

[mbepic]

He actually responded to my email. I sent him another response.

His response to me was basically that he believes in the ending of subsidy to everything. I stated that sounds great, but it is political fantasy, and unfortunately you have to work within the system of waste we currently have to effect change, and that means subsidizing alternatives because non alternatives will always have theirs...

You did a great job sending the message he needed to hear.

[cmr]

He actually responded to my email. I sent him another response.

His response to me was basically that he believes in the ending of subsidy to everything. I stated that sounds great, but it is political fantasy, and unfortunately you have to work within the system of waste we currently have to effect change, and that means subsidizing alternatives because non alternatives will always have theirs...

so is he willing to put his tax returns up for public view so we can see that he didn't take any tax deductions? he and his story are nothing but misinformation and bs.

[CarZin]

Well, his retorts werent very good. So I chock it up to someone who doesnt know enough writing like they do.